Ch. 6 Notes

1. Ch. 6 Notes Mesoamerican Civilizations

2. Mesoamerica extends from about the middle of

3. present-day Mexico to the central part of Central America.

5. In northern Mesoamerica there are two main mountain

6. ranges. In the east there is the Sierra Madre Oriental, and in

7. the west there are the Sierra Madre Occidental. A

8. large plateau, a high flat land area, lies between them.

9. The climate of Mesoamerica can be as varied as the land.

10. In some areas the lack of rainfall has created desert

11. conditions, and in other places enough rain falls to grow crops.

12. Along the Gulf of Mexico, which is part of the Atlantic

13. Ocean, the land is a lush tropical rain forest.

15. A peninsula is an arm of land sticking into the sea and is nearly

16. surrounded by water. There are few rivers on the Yucatan

17. peninsula because the plateau is primarily made of limestone.

18. Rainfall disolves the limestone and over time has created many

19. underground streams and caves. After the roofs, or ground above these

20. underground streams have collapsed, creating natural wells or sink

21. holes called cenotes.

22. Unlike the north, the land near the southern coast is mountainous, with the

23. highlands nearly reaching the beach.

24. The cultures of the people of Mesoamerica had many things in common.

25. They had an advanced form of agriculture which included growing crops

26. such as beans, maize, chili peppers and squash.

27. This is a photo of an equal area map

28. It is used to compare the size, but not the shape of land masses; it is

29. true at the center point with distortions greatest at the

30. edges of the map. A Robinson projection is truest along the

31. line between the equator and the poles.

32. This photo shows a mercator projection.

33. The Olmec was the first great civilization of Mesoamerica which lasted

34. from about 1200 B.C. to 300 B.C. The Olmec people lived in the tropical

35. rainforest along the Gulf of Mexico. Most were farmers, but they also

36. hunted and fished for food. They lived in small houses with thatched

37. roofs in villages. The Olmec people were divided into social classes

38. based on wealth and power. The Olmec government was a theoracy,

39. where the leader and ruling classes were believed to represent the

40. will of the gods. The priests and government officials were the most

41. powerful in the Olmec civilization.

42. Other social classes were made of merchants and craftspeople,

43. with the lowest social class being made up of farmers.

44. The Olmec are often referred to as the “Mother Civilization”, this is because they

45. directly influenced all of the Mesoamerican civilizations that

46. followed.

47. The Olmec are famous for the giant stone head sculptures they made, but they

48. developed a number system, a calendar, and system of writing as well.

49. Mayan civilization reached its peak about 250 A.D. and continue to

50. Flourish for another 650 years. The city of Tikal, in central Mexico,